Loyalties
by AmiThest
Summary: The third part of The Dance series. (All of the parts act as seperate stories, which is why I leave them seperate. After the explosion at the Vermillion city gym, can things ever be the same again?
1. Loyalties

Loyalties:   
'Till Death Do We Part   
By Ami-chan 

_Insert standard disclaimer here; you know these aren't mine, right? That's good. Nintendo is really nice to let us use them (Or at least they don't care) As you should know by now, Sassake is James's last name in my stories. If you haven't read why, you either haven't been reading my notes, or you've skipped the earlier parts. Either way, shame on you. PG warning, there's a little swearing. _

"Jessie, is that you?" James breathed, almost afraid to hope. It was either Jessie, or else Jessibell was a lot more crazy then he thought. "What did you do?" She turned to him, and he noticed a single green earing. "Jessie!" 

"James, this isn't my fault. None of this is my fault." She said. "Jessibell was crazy, she really scared me, she tried to kill me, she..." Her words were cut off as James grabbed her, holding her against him. 

"I'm so glad you're okay." He whispered, hugging her closer. She blushed slightly as she leaned on him for support. He took her face in his hand, and she looked up, surprised. Was he??! Before she could react, he dropped his face to hers, kissing her hard. Much harder then he had at the altar. She froze, unsure whether to struggle or help, but before she could decide, he pulled away to stroke her hair. "I was so worried about you." 

She gave him a look that was somewher inbetween surprised and afraid, and he cleared his throat. "Jessie, why can't you remember? You kissed me, you've kissed me a few times now. I thought I could forget about it, but I can't pretend anymore." She looked slightly pale. "I know you don't remember, but you did. We did. You know I wouldn't lie about this sort of thing, Jess. You just have to trust me." 

"Then that did happen..." She whispered to herself. "James, why didn't you say anything?" She blushed. "When you didn't mention it, I thought it must have been my imagination. I almost left, because I, because I...." She gulped. "Because I wasn't sure we could just be friends anymore, and I didn't think we could be anything else." 

"I didn't say anything because I didn't think you remembered, and I didn't want to scare you away. I didn't want to scare you... Because I... I love you, Jessie." She sucked in her breath. "I have for a long time now." She turned back away. "I mean it, Jess. I've been lying to myself for a while, but I can't anymore." 

"You... you were really going to marry Jessibell to save me, weren't you?" Her voice had an almost accusing ring to it. "You would give up your freedom like that? James, you already got nearly killed for me once. Isn't that enough?" 

"Believe me, Jessie, I really hadn't planned for that. I thought I could push you out of the way and still move. I found out I couldn't, but that's not your fault. And about Jessibell, how could I not? I couldn't let her hurt you." He said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She turned back, her large, blue eyes brimming with tears. 

"I'll never understand you, James." she shook her head in disbelief. "Oh, James..." She stepped forward, back into his arms. "All these years, all I've done... Everything that's happened." She leaned closer, closing her eyes as she let her head rest on his chest. She hadn't slept nearly at all in a week, and he seemed more than willing to hold her. "You think you love me?" 

"I know I do..." He stroked her cheek with one hand as the other reached to pull the tiara-shaped veil off her head, freeing her hair to it's normal style. He momentarily paused to deeply admire the sight of his Jessie in the flowing white dress that made her look like an angel. He had never expected to be able to see her in a wedding gown. He wanted to remember this forever. Then he slowly lowered his head, leaning forward to kiss her again. She put her arms against his chest, and lightly pushed him away. 

"James, I'm not sure about this." She said. "I mean, you say you love me, but how do you know? Have you ever felt this way before? I just don't think... It's not safe." 

"After what you've done in your life, I don't think you can pretend to care about safety." She looked away uncomfortably. "Look, Jess, I know you've been hurt before. I won't pretend to know how or how badly. But you have to understand that I can't help the way I feel any more than the way you feel. I just do, and seeing you like this now just makes it worse." He motioned to the snow-white dress she was wearing. "I... I love you, Jess." 

"I didn't plan for this, I was just trying to stay alive." She grumbled. 

"Maybe you should explain what happened to you. I'm still a little confused." James offered. _"Anything to keep her happy._" He didn't like where this was headed... She really wouldn't dump him, would she? Not after what they'ed been through, she couldn't! 

She looked up at him for a second, then cleared her throat. "She just walked up to me and pulled out a dagger, and I panicked. I think she said, "Live through this." My hands were tied, but I... managed to kick her. She fell backwards, and hit her head hard on the corner of a box. It might have killed her. I don't know. She dropped the knife, only a few feet away. It took a while to kick it over, lift it up, and get it in my teeth, but I finally cut the tape off my wrists." 

She removed the satin gloves to reveal several hastily-bandaged cuts and a few chunks of tape still stuck to her wrists. They were bright red from the chafing and tearing of the duct tape. He nodded gingerly, and she continued. 

"When I finally got out, she was still unconscious. I was trying to leave, but I couldn't seem to find an exit. Your house is way too big, James." She said angrily, then continued. "I finally found this room. I was just going to find some clothes, but I hadn't gotten clean in a week. I felt horribly dirt, and just the smell of myself was making me nautious. I decided to take a quick shower, but as I was getting out, your butler came in." She paused to catch her breath. "He thought I was Jessibell, and told me to hurry up. I was afraid he'd find out who I was and have me arrested or something, so I went along." She sighed. "You know the rest." 

"Poor Jessie." James comforted as he sat down on the edge of the bed, motioning for her to sit on his lap. "I bet you're exhausted." She nodded, sitting down. 

"Right now, I just want to sleep." She said quietly. "I'll think about what you said later. Can I give you an answer tomorrow?" He nodded. A late answer was better than no answer at all. "Thank you, James." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. 

"You'll probably want your space." He offered. "I'll sleep in my old room." 

"NO!" He jumped slightly at the yell. "No. I don't want to be alone if Jessibell wakes up." She explained. "Stay here tonight." She pleaded. 

He sighed. "Can I at least get some pajamas? It'll give you some time to change. You don't want to sleep in that, do you?" She shook her head, and he stepped forward. "Here, let me help you." As he undid the row of small buttons, she looked in the mirror. It was a breathtaking moment, one where she saw herself as something she had never even dared to consider before. Something that scared her to death. It must have been broken. Where she and her best friend should have been reflected, what she saw looked more like a husband and wife on their wedding night. 

Had James glanced at the mirror, he might have seen the same thing, and realized what was going through her head right now. As it was, he was too busy looking at her. Few people realized it, but she really was beautiful. From her slim, nearly bare shoulders to her full red lips, she was captivating. Even her fiery red hair just took some getting used to. He was mesmerized. 

Unfortunately, even the best dresses only have so many buttons, and the moment didn't last as long as either wanted it to. James reluctantly pulled away, averting his eyes so he wouldn't see anything as the dress fell off her shoulders. "I'll be back in a minute. Okay?" 

"Yeah..." She whispered as he closed the door. "James?!" He was already gone. "James..." She sat down on the side of the bed quietly, lost in her thoughts. Did she love him? Sure, he had always been her best friend, but love? She'd never really considered it before. Sure, it sounded nice enough. Especially of late, she had really noticed how handsome he looked. She had always admired his flair for fashion, but she was beginning to notice his shining emerald eyes more than his tailored tux. She hated to admit it, but he was a real looker now. 

Still, she hated the idea of loosing her only friend. What if it didn't work out? She would be all alone again, and she certainly didn't want that. Then again, her mind countered, he wasn't really a child now. She wasn't sure if he could even be considered a friend anymore. Not after what had happened. Things had gotten so difficult lately, she had no idea what she should do. She pondered it for several minutes before she decided it could wait until morning. He would be back soon, she had better find something else to wear before he got there. 

Still, it seemed a waste to take off such a beautiful dress after such a short time. She stood in front of the mirror, doing a couple of turns in front of the mirror to more fully admire herself. She felt just like a princess, and for now she looked it. Suddenly, she lost her balance as her heel became tangled in the flowing train. "Yeeeeek!" She hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her. Okay, now she was ready to take it off. "Stupid dress." She grumbled as she slipped out of it. She just wasn't ready to be royalty. 

Jessie opened a drawer and stared into it with disgust. Didn't Jessibell have any taste? She held up a long flannel nightgown and grimaced. Another drawer yielded a pair of plaid pajamas. "Nope." Another drawer revealed a scarlet, satin nightie. It was a little scant to wear around James, but curiosity made her try it. As she slid it on, she heard the door crack open. 

"Jess?" James whispered, looking around. She shrieked and covered herself, turning away. 

"Don't look at me, you pervert!" She grabbed a blouse out of a drawer and pulled it around herself. "What are you doing, back so soon?!" 

James looked over coolly. "That's nice. It doesn't seem like Jessibell's style, but on you, it's kinda cute." He said casually, turning back. She looked back at him. 

"Cute?! What do you mean, cute?" She yelled, slightly offended. She had expected him to get a little more excited. "You think this is cute?!" She moved towards him threateningly. 

"Jess, before you kill me I'd like to remind you that I went for four years straight where there was never a day I didn't see you in a tiny skirt and black leather. It wasn't easy, but I learned to get used to it pretty quick." He reminded her. 

You mean you actually... liked... my uniform?" She asked, surprised. 

"I'd like to you to show me a man that wouldn't." He returned. "I just kept it under control because I wanted to be your friend." 

"I had no idea." She said, then giggled. "I guess it was a little dirty, wasn't it? That always bugged me. When we first got the uniforms, I was so ticked. I figured if I had to wear that, you should have to wear something more risqué, too. Like a Speedo." 

James laughed. "You had the worst uniform in the Team. Even Cassidy's uniform was less revealing." She stiffened a little, and he quickly added. "Of course, you had more to flaunt the Cass did." 

"You mean that?" She said softly. 

"I don't see why I wouldn't. But why's it so important?" He asked. 

"Well... Zee told you about the dance, right? How Robert asked me out, and then... and then showed up with another girl?" He nodded. "Did she know who it was?" 

He looked straight at her face. "No... It wasn't." He said with disbelief. 

"I'm afraid so. It was Cassidy." She said quietly, trembling slightly. "She was my best friend, James. Until that night, we had been like sisters. I never expected her to turn on me like that. I just, I just..." She sniffled. "Being dumped hurt, but loosing my best friend was almost unlivable. I couldn't believe it. She was my only friend." 

"Wow... I had no idea." He didn't know quite what to say, if there was anything to say. "That's why you two... always fought?" 

"After the dance, she seemed to think she was too good for me. I hated her so much for it. Then, when I joined Team Rocket, she did too. I was sure she had done it just to upstage me again. That day, I promised myself two things: I would never let myself fall in love again, and I would never loose a best friend again. Now you're asking me to do both." 

He reached for her arm. "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I didn't know, I... I don't know what to say. I'm sorry" 

She pulled away. "No, don't apologize. It's not your fault. And James, I want to break my promise. I really do. I just don't know if I can." She looked into his eyes for a moment, then leaned against him again. "I'm so tiered..." 

"It's okay. I'll wait for you." He comforted. "You don't have to tell me anything until you feel totally comfortable about it." He offered, pulling back the sheets and leaning her back against them. "Just sleep." He began to tuck her in. 

She caught his arm. "I'll tell you tomorrow, like I said. But you said you'd sleep here, with me." 

James swallowed nervously. "I thought you meant on the floor." He nearly squeaked. 

Jessie pulled back all but the bottom sheet and blanket. "I'd feel safer..." She scooted over. "Jessibell could still be after me." James nodded and lay down stiffly. Jessie smiled and inched closer, lying against his back. She was asleep in moments, but poor James wouldn't be able to force himself to go to sleep until the early morning. 

What he had told her was true... almost. He had never really learned to keep his feelings under control, but he had learned to keep them a secret. Even that had been hard on him. The first month they had been partners, he hadn't been able to use the warm water once in the shower. And she hadn't been nearly so pretty back then. If that had been a challenge, this was unlivable. "Jess..." He whispered softly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James could feel without waking up that something was wrong. A single reach proved that. She was gone. He sat up groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The wedding dress was hanging on the wall, her nightie lay in a heap on the floor. Those were the only signs that she'd even been there. 

"_I guess that's her answer._" He thought, lying back down. It just didn't seem worth getting up anymore. He rolled over, pulling another pillow over his head. _"This is just a dream, this is just a dream, this is just a dream..."_ He repeated in his head, then opened his eyes. "Did it work?" Whether his chant had worked or it had been there to begin with, there was a note lying on the bed. He grabbed it and read aloud: 

Hey James,   
I woke up early.   
It's a beautiful day, and I thought I'd see the estate   
Don't worry, you'll still get your answer today.   
Later,   
Jess

He clutched the note to his chest and sighed with relief. She was still there. He would still get his answer. Whatever it was, he wanted her to say it to his face. Besides, she had to say yes. Didn't she? He looked around again. Jessibell's room... Yuk. He had slept in Jessibell's bed, too. Suddenly, he felt like taking a hot shower. 

"Good morning, Master James." Hopkins greeted him as he came down the stairs, still towling off his hair. "I trust you... slept well?" He held out a large silver tray with a donut and a cup of coffee. "It's just the way you like it, Sir." 

"Thanks, Hopkins." James said, taking the food. "Hey, have you seen Jessie bell today?" He almost forgot to add the 'bell', but he was getting more used to it. In any case, the butler didn't seem to notice. 

"As a matter of fact, she took a ponyta out for a ride a early this morning ago. She ate a huge breakfast, but she seemed in a very good mood indeed. But then, just an hour ago, I saw her leave again. She seemed ready to kill someone. It's the strangest thing. I didn't even see her come back in." He turned to James. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" 

James was slightly pale. "I have a pretty good idea." He mumbled, heading for the door. "I'll go find her." 

"Master James?" James grabbed his jacket, running for the stables. "Master James! Don't you want your breakfast?" He yelled into his megaphone. "He never listens, Sir." He complained to one of the coffins in the living room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie walked through the clearing, leading a ponyta behind her. It was a beautiful countryside, she had to admit. The Sassake manor was over four square miles, and she still hadn't seen most of it. A few pidgeys sang in the trees, a butterfree filtered through the sunlight. 

It just added to her worries. She and James were from two totally different worlds, and this proved it. Could they really make it work? She just didn't know. "Oh... James." She said aloud. "Why'd you have to do this to me?" It was frustrating as heck, trying to find an answer. He'd made it clear they couldn't be friends anymore. 

But it wasn't all his fault. After all, the first three kisses had been her. It's just... it had seemed so right at the time. She had managed to take her mind off of her own past for a while, only thinking about him. 

If it weren't for her problems, she would have accepted immediately. James, despite his flaws, was a good man, certainly better then her. He would provide for her, to the best of his power. She certainly couldn't hold a job. She had tried before, but her horrible lack of real skill and her habit of yelling at, threatening, and otherwise beating people (even customers) made sure that she was fired within a month. James had already gotten a job, he could probably at least keep a minimum-wage job always. Besides, she was used to being poor. In a way, it sounded fun; sharing a little apartment... They'd certainly see plenty of each other. 

She sighed and gazed at the mansion in the distance. That sounded even more fun. Why couldn't James have it? His parents were so strange. What kind of parent would deny their own child his inheritance for not marrying a monster? They were just sick. 

Still, they could probably get the money if she could only pretend to be Jessibell. Somehow, it just didn't seem worth it. _"What difference would it make? Would you really marry him for his money?"_ There was a time... There was a time it would have made her sick, too. It was just so confusing. She really wanted to, but her heart kept reminding her: life is best lived alone, money is always the best friend, and above all: never love or trust anyone, especially not a man. And she had finally realized that James was one. She wasn't sure if she could truly love him. She wasn't sure if she could truly love anyone. 

She absentmindedly bent down to pick a daisy, and began to pull at it. "Love him, love him not, love him..." She recited as she plucked each petal off, dropping them to the ground. "Love him not, Love him..." She was out of petals. "Dumb flower." She dropped the stem and continued walking. 

Suddenly, she heard a crack behind her. But it didn't sound like a stick, it sounded more like a... Jessie let out a small gag as a whip wound around her neck, knocking her to her knees. "Jessibell..." She gasped as her hands went to her throat. 

"I could snap your neck with like a lil' old twig..." Jessibell warned, yanking the whip slightly. "...And I would have a very good reason to. How dare you... My dress, my ring, my cake. my parents, my groom..." She growled slightly with rage. "...My wedding bed. You've stolen everything. Y'all deserve to die." 

"I didn't steal anything." She gagged. "He loves me, I can't help that. Besides, I'm beginning to think you don't really love him at all." 

"You have no right to talk. You don't even know what love is!" Jessibell yelled. 

"And yet, you didn't deny it." Jessie's voice was becoming weaker as her vision began to blur. "You never have, have you?" She fell to the ground. "You don't want what's best for him, do you?" Jessie whispered as her breath became short. To her surprise, the whip loosened. She looked up, choking slightly. 

"What's best for him? Do you think you want what's best for him?" Her voice was more taunting now. "When he was with me, he was a refined young man. James-dear did well in school and was going to be a great business man. Under your friendship, he flunked out of school and joined a gang. If he stays with you, he'll never be anything. Is that your way of loving him?" 

Jessie stood. "James would have done that anyway. It was your nagging that drove him to it!" She screamed. "It wasn't my fault!" 

Jessibell was silent. Too silent. Jessie realized she was shaking with rage. "How dare you... How dare you." She hissed. "Accusing me of leading James-dear astray?!" She gave Jessie a seething glare. "I've never wanted to hurt someone like this before..." She said, almost nervously, as she swung at Jessie. 

Jesssie blocked her punch. "You did." Jessibell's anger was rubbing off on her. "This is all your fault!" She slapped the prissy red-head. 

"Don't touch me!" Jessibell shrieked, returning the slap. "You-all did this all! You've never done anything for him." Jessie shook her head numbly. "You stole my wedding!" She slapped Jessie again. "You've almost gotten him killed! You think you care..." Jessie was slightly stunned, and Jessibell punched her in the stomach. "Vileplume, show this whore who deserves James dear!" 

Jessie held her stomach, panting slightly. Normally, she could have beat Jessibell, no contest. Today, however, she was still weak. And she did have other things on her mind... besides Jessibell's anoying cackle. She stood as straight as she could, running at her opponent. 

"Vileplume, acid!" Jessibell screamed, and Jessie suddenly found her face coated in a fiery paste that seemed to eat away at her flesh. She shrieked in pain and dropped back to her knees, covering her face as the horrible glop dripped into her eyes... she was at Jessibell's mercy now. 

There wasn't any. Jessibell kicked her in the stomach, then turned to Vileplume. "Use the petal dance!" A rain of deceptively beautiful petals shot at Jessie. "Finish her off! James-dear will always be mine!" 

"Fire Blast!" The bizarre-shaped flame quickly incinerated the deadly flowers. "Jessie! Are you okay?" James ran to the girl's side, dropping to his knees next to her. "Speak to me!" 

"James..." Jessie wimpered as James began to wipe off the poisonous muck with his handkerchief. 

"James Dear..." Jessibell said, stunned. "Why her? She's a li'l tramp! How can you love her more than me?!" James ignored her as he tried to help Jessie. 

"Hold on, Jess." He said, gently lifting her. "I'll get you help." He turned to the growlithe and his own ponyta. "Growlie, Heilos, get rid of that weed." He mounted the ponyta Jessie had brought, draping her over the front of the saddle. 

"James Dear..." Jessibell cried. "Why?!" James clucked the reigns. "James..." James stopped. She had never called him just James before. "She's right, you know. I don't know if I love you." He stared, stunned. All this time? "I thought I could change you. I wanted to make your parents happy, but I don't think I ever loved you." She turned to vileplume. "We're prepared this time! Jigglypuff, I choose you!" James chukled softly. Cute, and annoying as heck. Jigglypuff was the perfect pokemon for her. "This ain't a normal one! Jigglypuff, water gun!" 

The large stream of water shot at the growlithe. Growlie jumped out of the way, but the ponyta James was on bucked at the sight of the deadly water. Before James knew what was happening, he was face down in the mud as the ponyta ran for it's life. "Jessie!" He ran after it. There was a cliff that way! "JESSIE!" 

The ponyta, crazed with fear, hardly noticed it. As it neared the edge, it swerved, skidding as it tried to stop in time. "Jump, Jessie!" 

"My hand is caught!" Jessie screamed back as she struggled to release her hand from the staps of the overly-ornamented saddle. Her fear just made the ponyta more anxious. Unfortunately, there was nothing either could do. Suddenly, time seemed to slow down. James froze, knowing he was too late. He watched in horror as ponyta stumbled, beginning to fall. In a sickening moment that seemed to last forever, they teetered on the edge. Then both horse and rider disappeared off the edge, falling to the lake below. Over 200 feet below. 

"NOOOOO!" James screamed, running to the edge. The thick fog blocked all vision. "Jessie! No!" He yelled. "No....." He dropped his head. "Jessie..." 

"James-dear?" He froze. 

"You killed her... You killed her, you..." He yelled. She just shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. "Jessie..." He cried. Screaming at Jessibell wouldn't help anything. 

"I'm sorry, James-dear." She sobbed. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to. You were trying to hurt Vileplume..." She looked at him. "But she was wrong, and I know it now. I was mad, I shouldn't have let myself go like that. But I do love you. I love you enough to know... That I've lost you. I don't know why y'all love her, but I know you do. Goodbye, James. I won't bother you anymore." She covered her face as she ran away. "Goodbye." 

He watched her leave, unsure what to think. "Jessie..." He turned back to the cliff. "Jessie, not now! Everything's perfect! We can be together now, no one can stop us!" He sank to his knees. "You can't be dead, Jess. Life is so close to perfect now, but without you, it's just another hell. I'm lost without you." 

"You can say that again." He looked back down. A large gust of frigid wind blasted up the side of the cliff, and James shivered as it hit him, turning away. When he looked back, his jaw dropped. 

A huge, ice-blue bird was in front of him, carrying a dazed ponyta. Through the articuno's icy aura, he could make out a person ridding on it's back... "Jessie!" He screamed again, this time with elation. 

"James." She slid off it's back and into his arms as it dropped the ponyta, flying off into the sky. Without her badges, she had no way to control it, and it was happy to be free. "Oh James." He squeezed her until she could hardly breathe, spinning her around twice so her feet left the ground. 

"Jess." He buried his head in her hair, hugging her tightly. Although it seemed so real, he was almost afraid it was a dream. "I love you." At that, she pulled back a little. 

"I promised you an answer..." She said, pulling off the ring he had given her the day before. "I may hate myself for this later..." She handed it to him. "I want you to have this back, though." He gulped. 

"Is... Is that your answer?" He said shakily. She nodded, and he hugged her again, this time trembling slightly. "Jess, I'll love you forever... Is there anything I can do to..." 

Jessie cut him off. "That thing is Jessibell's." She continued. "It's unfair to her to use it for us." He looked at her face, shocked. "And I'll be expecting a much nicer cake at our wedding. Maybe chocolate. You think?" 

"Not right now." He said, dazed as what she said began to sink in. "Not very well, at least." 

"Besides..." She grinned at him. "...I promised Zee she could be my maid of honor." And at that, he grinned back. The only thing that could make this any better would be... She seemed to be thinking the same thing about that, too... She closed her eyes. "Sealed with a kiss." And boy, was it ever... 

The End!

_Sorry, this totally slipped my mind! I've been RPGing way too much lately. Finally, a happy ending! Yeah! I've been waiting for this forever! I was worried there for a while. And all of my two readers say, "At least you knew what was going to happen." Ha. You don't know me very well. At least I didn't kill Jessibell. I've been killing too many people lately. 'Sides, I feel a little sorry for Jesibell. _

Anyway, next comes the best part! A sappy, romantic wedding. If I can keep my violent alter ego under control. I don't know. After all this, they really deserve a happy wedding, but I haven't addressed the subject of her dad... and there is still Robert. Either way. I've got an overbearing ogre for a speech teacher this year, so stories might come a little slower. I'll try not to put up as many unfinished stories. Anyway, it's 5:30 in the morning and I've been typing all night, and this stupid cat won't get out of my lap. (I love you, really, Muffin, but do you have to chase this mouse right now?) I'm glad it's over. 

Like it? Love it? Think it's the best story you've ever read in your life? I'd love to hear it. Think it was really stupid? Tell me at your own risk >:D! Reviews or e-mails are always welcome, eh? 

-[Ami][1]

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@yahoo.com



	2. Loyalties: Revealed

Loyalties:   
Revealed

by [Amethyst][1]   
(Get it? Ami_Thest, Amethyst? No one understands me.) 

I don't own any of these characters, and I'm not using them with Nintendo's permission or knowledge. Now you know why I do Team Rocket fanfics.   
Okay, this is the first of a new series. As such, is has lots of intro, and less violence. Anyway, now Giovanni's gone, so I'm running out of villains. Now all I've got are... Butch and Cassidy! No, wait. I killed them too, didn't I? (^.^;) I'm sorry. well, find out for yourself. 

James gulped and tapped a foot impatiently as the elevator went down. He hated elevators, but the only apartment he could find was one on the fifth floor. He normally didn't mind too much, but he was running late today. He checked his watch, then tapped his foot again. "Hurry up..." The elevator finally reached the bottom. 

He stepped out, casually glancing to his side as someone entered the other elevator. His eye caught a flash of brilliant red hair... "JESSIE!!" The door had already closed, but he ran to it. "Jessie?!" He pounded on the door. It had already started upwards. "Jess..." So it was going to be one of those days. "_It wasn't her._" He tried to convince himself. He saw her quite often, even after all this time he still swore he saw her at least once a week. Even if Jessie was still alive, the chances of her being here, in this town, in his apartment building... They were far too small. He couldn't wait. He was going to be late for work. "Jess..." He gulped and turned around, ignoring the gawks of the others in the lobby. 

As the elevator went up, Jessie looked nervously at the floor as she heard a banging sound. She continued her stare nervously until she was sure that the whole thing wasn't about to crash. Then she leaned against the wall. "Hey James..." She practiced. "Hello, James. How are you? No, no..." She tried again. "James, I missed you..." She wasn't quite sure how to greet him. What would she say to him? What would he say to her? 

She wondered what would happen when they met. Would he be mad at her? Would he be glad to see her? Would he try to kiss her? She had a few blurred memories of a kiss. Were those real, or just in her mind? She couldn't remember. She wasn't even quite sure how she'd react if he did try. Although her precious ego wouldn't allow her to admit it, James was probably the best offer she was getting. She'd be a fool not to take him. He might not be a knight in shining armor, but at least he had the heart of one. 

The door got to the floor, and she nervously stepped out. 532... She walked down the row of rooms, checking her slip of paper. 544, 545... 546! There it was! She gulped and gathered her courage, then knocked gently. Nothing. "James?" She knocked again, harder this time. "James, if you're in there, you'd better open up!" She sighed. He must not be there. _He probably has a job, stupid._ She reminded herself. Now what should she do? She couldn't just wait for him to come home. She'd better find a hotel room or something. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James slipped on his apron and went to the first table. "May I take your order, ma'am?" He said blankly, staring out the window. 

"Yes, I'll have..." The woman rattled off the meal she wanted, giving specifications on how it should be cooked, but James hardly caught any of it. He was staring at the large crowd passing by the window. Suddenly, he saw the red-head from that morning. 

_"Jessie!"_ That was definitely her. The flaming red hair, the blue eyes, the pouting expression she so often had... He would recognize her anywhere. As he stood, frozen, she walked past the window, looking around. She apparently didn't see him, and headed in the door. "Excuse me , ma'am, I'll be right back." James said hurriedly, running off. 

Jessie sat down in a small booth by a window and ordered a cup of coffee. She gazed out the window of the small cafe. It was overcast, and the ground was already damp from the mist, but a huge crowd had already began to form. Some festival or something. She glared at them. _ Idiots. _ she thought to herself. _ What is there to celebrate? Life is emptiness. _ Thanks to them, the city was packed. The Pokemon center was totally full, she couldn't even find a hotel room, there was no place to stay in the whole city. She would have to try to make it to Pewter city today. 

"But it's already afternoon. I'll never make it. And I don't want to have to sleep out there." She said aloud to no one in particular, frowning at a cloud. The forecast said that it was going to get worse over the night. Much worse. She sighed and stirred her coffee again. It was getting cold, but she wasn't thirsty 

"James! Get back here!" A voice called from behind her. Jessie froze. "_You know it's not..._" But she wasn't listening to herself. She spun around, spilling her coffee all over herself and the floor. The little boy running past slipped on it and fell. 

"You see, James? I told you to be more careful." A woman, probably the boy's mother, walked over. She turned to Jessie. "I'm sorry. Did my little James startle you?" She turned back to her son. "James, apologize to this nice young lady immediately." 

"_ Told you so._" Jessie was disappointed, but she tried not to show it. "No, it's okay." She said to the woman before smiling at the kid. "I'm sorry you slipped on my coffee, James." She offered him a hand to help him up. 

The boy refused it, choosing to struggle on his own. He finally got to his feet and stuck his tongue out at her. "Sorry, grandma!" He yelled before zooming off again. 

"James! James! Get back here!" The woman turned back to Jessie. Except for her lack of pupils, she seemed to be taking it very nicely. "I'm so very sorry, ma'am. James! Stop running!" She ran off after him. 

Jessie watched them go. She had half a mind to clobber the kid, but the other half her mind had been gone since she heard that name. "James." She whispered. 

"_Stop that! You're edgy enough already!_" She reprimanded herself, and turned to look out the window. Outside was the same as it had been, the same dull crowd, dull people, the same boring old scene. _ So much for that diversion. _ She turned her attention to her reflection. 

_ Gawd, look at those bags. You really do look like a grandma. _ "Shut up." She turned away from her reflection. Arguing with herself... She really was losing it. _ It's not my fault. I haven't had a good night's sleep since..._ She shivered. The coffee was soaking into her white dress, her last piece of clean clothes, but she didn't seem to notice. Most of her was already gone again. 

It was eight, no, by now it must be nine months ago. Life as she knew it, as she had always known it, had been totally destroyed. First, she had quit. (Her first mistake.) Then Giovanni had... That machine. She shivered again, much harder. All those long weeks, she had been his slave, his puppet. The feeling of not having any control over her body had been horrifying. She had even agreed to marry him. If James hadn't come along... She didn't even want to think what would have happened. Mewtwo probably would have killed them all before the wedding. She wasn't sure which was worse. 

Giovanni had tried to kill her when he realized Mewtwo had totally taken control of her body. James had pushed her out of the way, taking the shot in her place. He was so sweet... She blushed a little. That must have been what made Mewtwo rethink his 'kill all humans' policy. Once Mewtwo had realized that not all humans were evil, he had been much more reasonable. He had even healed James. 

Then they had both gotten to safety. Everything had seemed okay. But no, she had to go back in for Arbok. "It's okay, sweety." She patted the ball in her bag. "I'm not mad at you." Then she had gotten Giovanni's pokemon. He was dead anyway... Or so she had thought. She had just been leaving the holding room when she had seen him. 

Any trace of humanity had left him. He was totally insane. As his eyes had locked with hers, she had felt her blood turn to ice. He wanted her dead. She knew he would do anything to kill her. At that moment she had turned and ran as fast as she could, driven by fear beyond anything she had ever felt before. She had just barelly made it to an emergency exit when the explosion had knocked her off her feet, throwing her into a nearby river. She had hardly even attempted to swim to shore before she had totally given in to the impending darkness that had surrounded her. 

She awoke nearly two months later in a small town, several cities down. After regaining consciousness, it had been several more months before she was deemed healthy enough to be released. When she was finally let out, she had just wandered aimlessly. The explosion had ruined those memories Mewtwo hadn't, and she couldn't even remember her own name. It had taken her weeks to even figure out who she was, let alone where she was. She only knew one thing, she had to find James. At the time, she hadn't even known who this 'James' was. 

When she had finally wandered to her home town, her sister had recognized her. She had explained as much as she knew, and told her that James had survived. Zee had told her he was here, in Viridian, and even given her an address. That's why she had come here, wasn't it? But he hadn't been home. She had searched everywhere, with no trace of James. She didn't even know what she'd do if she found him. 

"_You'd hit him._" She grinned, for the first time in days. "Yeah, I would." She quietly admitted. She missed having such a convenient way to vent her anger almost as much as she missed him. It hadn't taken long for her to find out that you couldn't treat just anyone like that. 

"What now?" She was alone and scared. Even now, nearly a year after the explosion, she was still having horrible nightmares of Giovanni coming after her, controlling her. While they had been even more scary when she hadn't known who it was, they still shook her to the core whenever she had one. She felt so alone. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please." A voice came from outside. Jessie looked, thankful for something to get her mind off of her current problems. 

Officer Jenny was standing in the middle of the street, sitting on her motorcycle. One hand propped it up, while the other held a megaphone. "We're sorry, but because of the rain, no fire Pokemon will be able to participate in today's parade. A collective groan came from the audience, knowing well that the trick ponytas and growlithes were often the best part of a parade. "Once again, we're sorry..." Officer Jenny's voice trailed off as she drove off to the next block to spread the unhappy news. 

Fortunately, she had left Jessie with a much more welcome memory. Jessie giggled slightly, then burst out laughing. 

"What's so funny, Jess?" The waiter asked. 

"Remember that time we both dressed as Officer Jenny, to try to steal all those growlithe? You looked so funny!" She was still trying to catch her breath when she froze. "_Jess? WE??!!_" She spun around to find herself looking into a pair of familiar green eyes. 

"JAMES!!!!" She squeaked, shooting back against the wall. As she leaned against the window, she weighed her options. On one hand, she wanted to hug him, but on the other, it had been a really rotten day. And she did have a reputation to keep... Instinct took over. 

"What do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that?!" She yelled, hitting him upside the head with a large white fan and sprawling him out on the floor. 

"Owch! I didn't sneak up on you!" He whined, throwing both hands over his head for protection. "I've been standing there for five minutes! You just didn't notice me!" He peeked up at her, still covering his head. "I missed you. I was worried about you. You looked awful." 

"Thanks a lot." She growled, standing up from the table. She moved like she was going to hit him again, and he ducked behind a chair. 

"You know what I mean." He was still whining, but not quite as bad. "Besides, I brought you something. He motioned to the table. 

Her eyes widened. A triple-fudge sundae! "My favorite!" She squealed, digging in. Meanwhile, James had partially recovered, and pulled himself up in the chair across from her. He looked across the table. 

"And then, all of a sudden, you got all happy. I don't understand." 

"I'm sorry, but I saw Officer Jenny, and it reminded me of you, and..." She burst out laughing again as the image of James in a mini-skirt came back to her. It took several minutes for her to get under control. When she did, she looked up and gasped. A very un-amused James frowned back at her, wiping off some of the chocolate she had spit all over him. She cracked up again. "I'm sorry. *snicker* It's *snort* not funny." He had trouble believing she meant that. 

James was rather annoyed. After all that happened, all of those sleepless nights he had lay awake wondering how she was, where she was, if she was even alive, all the people he had tracked down, trying to find out anything about her, all the times he had mistaken a complete stranger for her, after all the hell he had gone through because of her, couldn't she do anything but laugh at him? "_She hit you, didn't she? That's something else._" He reminded himself sarcastically. 

"Jessie." She managed to give him some of her attention between the sporadic giggles. "That explains the laughing. But what about before that? Are you okay?" He reached over and stroked a small scar on her neck. "You must have been hurt pretty badly." She shivered lightly at his touch, and he quickly pulled away. "How on earth did you survive? I was so worried about you." 

She looked up into his bright green eyes. He really did seem to care. Could she really let herself go, and tell him everything? She really wanted to cry. On the other hand, she really didn't want him to think she was weak. 

"Giovanni... Had been worried about my safety. He made sure most all of my clothes were bullet-proof. They helped block some of the blast. The rest was just luck and experience. You know, blasting off all those times." She frowned. "But today, nothing's going right." She murmured. "I've got no clean clothes, I dropped them in the gutter.." She motioned to a muddy canvas bag by her feet. "I ruined these clothes." She motioned to the huge coffee stain on her dress. "I couldn't find you. There's no place to stay in this whole city...." 

"You were looking for me?" 

Jessie blushed until her face was nearly as red as her hair, realizing what she had just said. She cleared her throat and began explaining. "Well, umm, you see, I... Well, you know, I, I..." She coughed and tried again. "Well, I was just thinking about how awful things were last time we saw each other, and was wondering how you were doing. I was worried. And..." She paused, then admitted: "I missed you, too." 

"You really missed me?" 

"A little." She conceded. 

She looked up and noticed he was grinning. "What?!" She asked defensively. 

"Oh, nothing." He grinned some more, but not nearly as much as he was grinning inside. "_So she does care._" He wasn't quite sure why that made him so happy. 

"James?" A woman's voice yelled from the kitchen. Jessie looked over, and giggled. 

"Is it that kid again?" She asked, looking for the little James. She looked up at James, he was really nervous. 

"Opps! I've been over here for half an hour! My boss is going to kill me!" He ran a few steps, then ran back. "Listen, I get off work in an hour." He said quickly. "Can you wait?" If she couldn't, he'd leave. She was more important then some stupid job, anyway. But still, no reason to be fired if she'll stay around. 

"Of course..." she said. "_...I'm in a hurry, and too late to wait around for you._" She finished quietly in her head. She didn't want to sleep out in the storm. She really didn't have the time, but she'd been looking for him too long to leave already. 

"Great." His smile alone was worth it. "I'll see you then." He ran off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James hung his apron on a rack, grabbing his jacket. He began to put it on, then turned and looked at Jessie in her sleeveless mini-dress. "Um, have you got a jacket?" She shook her head no, and he handed his to her. 

He opened the door and held it for her as he checked the weather. It was starting to rain, so he pulled out his umbrella, and motioned for her to walk next to him. As they walked, she looked up at him. Up? Since when did she have to look up at James? "Have you gotten taller?" She remembered when they first met, she had been the taller one. _ I guess men do get their growth spurts latter. _

"A little. I didn't think you would notice." He was glad she did. 

They walked for a little while in silence, until Jessie couldn't stand the awkward quiet anymore. "Hey, James? What made you decide to stay here?" 

"I don't know. It's far from home. Jessibell's been looking to bring 'her poor renegade James' back where he belongs, now that he's out of that 'evil society' of his." He laughed uncomfortably. "But most of all, memories, I guess." 

"Memories?" 

"Yeah. A lot of stuff happened here, you know. This is where we first met, where we went through training to enter Team Rocket, stuff like that. Remember when we had control of the Viridian gym? I was so impressed. You knew all the attacks for Giovanni's Pokemon." 

She shuddered lightly at the mention of her former Boss's name. "I still failed." She whispered. 

"But you tried. I didn't know any of them. And then, you were a real leader. You were incredible, totally unbeatable." He smiled at her uneasily. "You were really impressive." He wasn't sure quite how she'd react, but he had to talk about it. He really wanted to know if she had been in control at all during it. 

Her bag dropped to the ground, and she stopped walking. He looked over nervously. "Jessie?" he said questioningly 

"James!" She threw herself against his chest, sobbing. She hadn't let herself cry about it once since it happened, but she couldn't stop herself now. She felt James drop the umbrella to hug her. 

"Jessica." He whispered worriedly. He was the only one he knew who was ever allowed to call her by her full name, and even then he saved it for important events. This was one of them. 

"James, it wasn't me, none of it was me!" She sobbed, hugging him closer. "The fire, the fighting, the explosion... I can't even remember most of what happened... " She didn't want him to think she had beat him that badly by her own free will. "I think Giovanni blew up the gym just to kill me. James, all those people died because of me! It's horrible..." 

"Don't be so hard on yourself. It wasn't your fault." He softly stroked her hair as she pulled closer. "It's okay, just cry..." He comforted, trying to hide his own pain. If that wasn't her in control, she probably didn't even remember how close they had been. When the explosion went off, he was sure he had just lost his best friend, his first love. For the last several months he'd been loosing it, blaming himself for whatever happened to Jessie. He was so glad she was alright. 

Jessie hugged him a little tighter. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to have someone care about her, but she didn't want to send the wrong message. He hadn't mentioned that anything had happened between them, so he probably still thought of her as just a friend. She pulled away, smiling at him so he wouldn't know it still hurt. It felt so nice, but she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable. 

"Are you okay now?" He asked, and she nodded. "Good." He handed her the bag she had dropped, and picked up the umbrella. They walked in silence until Jessie noticed they were heading into an apartment building. 

"Uh, James? Where exactly are we going, anyway?" She asked nervously. 

"My place." He said casually. 

"WHAT?!!" 

"What's wrong?" He turned and looked at her. She quickly turned away, blushing furiously. Suddenly he understood. "No, no! It's nothing like that!" He yelled, waving his hands and blushing even worse than her. "_Idiot. That's a good way to ease her back into things._" 

He tried to explain. "I mean, you don't want to go out with that stain, do you? Um, you said you didn't have any other clothes... You can take a shower, wash your clothes... I'll make some dinner. My couch folds out into a bed." He thought about what he had just said, then got even more embarrassed. "I mean if you want to stay, of course. There's no where else to stay, right? But you don't really have to. I mean, if it makes you nervous..." He said quickly. "_Shut up._" He told himself. "_Before you say anything else stupid, and really scare her off._" 

James sighed. It had all made so much sense in his head. Out loud, it sounded perverted, if not just plain stupid. "_It shouldn't bother you that much._" He reminded himself. "_Remember, you two always shared a room as Team Rocket._" But this was definitely different. Did she remember? He found himself starring at her face. Could he still just be her friend? Would he lose her forever if he couldn't? 

"Sounds good." She had calmed down. James just smiled and nodded, thankful he didn't have to explain it to her. She probably thought he was crazy now, but deep inside, James suspected that she had always believed he was a bit insane. "_Of course he means as friends. James isn't that kind of guy._" She felt a little stupid for thinking he would kiss her like that. It must have been her imagination. 

They finally got to his apartment. He opened the door, and she walked in, looking around. "Nice Place." She commented with only slight sarcasm. 

"Sorry. I don't get visitor's often." He explained, clearing some junk off the couch. She sat down as he embarassedly began collecting cans off the floor. (The pull-tabs had already been removed, James had always had a bizarre fascination with pull-tabs and bottle caps.) She watched him for a while, then got bored and began to pass time looking at the walls. There were several paintings, mostly of Pokemon. One in particular caught her attention. 

It was of a little girl in a straw hat with ribbons and a frilly dress, laughing and hugging a growlithe. But it was the little girl that surprised her. "THAT'S ME!" She yelled, jumping back from the picture. When he heard her yelling, James ran in. He seemed embarrassed when he saw what she was looking at. "Did you paint that picture, James?" She asked with surprised. 

"Yeah, sort of, I guess." He blushed, putting one arm behind his neck. 

"I had no idea you were an artist." 

"Yeah, well, my parents made me take a lot of classes on that sort of stuff. You know, 'perfect gentleman' and all that." He looked over at her. "So, what do you think of it?" 

"I was never that cute." She tried to make it sound like a bad thing. "It is very good, though." She admitted. 

"I think you were." He grinned. "So, what brings you to these parts? Are you staying very long?" "_Please, please, don't go soon._" He begged in his mind, crossing both fingers for luck. 

"I have no idea." She hadn't worked her plan out that far. Her whole plan had consisted of finding James. She turned around. "Boy, I'm starved, James. What's for dinner?" She was a master at changing the subject, at least in her own eyes. 

James sighed. "I'll get to work on it. Jessie. Why don't you start washing your clothes? You can take your shower, too. It'll be ready by then. The washer is...." She had already started off down the hallway, completely ignoring him. He sighed again, this time more longingly. 

After what had happened between them, he had trouble keeping his eyes off of her. But she said none of that was her. Did she even remember it? She must not, or else she would have said something about it. Now what? He wanted to be her best friend, and be there for her always, but he wanted to be more, too. He wanted to hold her the way he had that day, nearly a year ago, and he wanted her to look into his eyes the way she had then. He wanted to be everything for her. But most of all, he wanted to be with her. 

He cared about her so much, he didn't want to frighten her off and be without her forever. He shook his head. He'd give her more time. That was all he could do. Hopefully, she'd either regain her memories, or she would realize and accept how he felt about her. If not... He would have to pretend. It was better then losing her totally. He stared a few more seconds, then turned and went into the kitchen. 

Jessie stopped by the bathroom, grabbing a towel. When she got to the laundry room, she shoved all of her clothes inside, then peered in. "_There's still room._" She thought, glancing nervously at the door. Then she quickly pulled off the dress she was wearing, shoving it in with the other clothes. Hurriedly, she wrapped the towel around her, threw another glance at the still-closed door, and sighed with relief. 

"James?" She called, walking over to the bathroom. 

"What?" he looked around the corner as she ducked into the bathroom. 

"Can I borrow some clothes?" she asked, peeking around the door. 

"Huh?" 

"You know, just until my clothes are clean." She grinned. "I'll take any old shirt. Oh, and a pair of boxer shorts. You still wear boxer shorts, don't you?" She ducked back in and slammed the door, silencing any of his protests and winning the argument. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie grinned at her reflection as she brushed her hair. It had been days since her last shower, and even that had been at a grimy old Pokemon center. This bathroom wasn't exactly the cleanest she'd ever been in, but it was still much better then a Pokemon Center. Just about anything was. Their bathrooms always stunk, and there was always a line, so you had to hurry. . James, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to notice that she had been in the shower for more than an hour. 

"_Well, I had to shave my legs, didn't I?_" She reasoned. As she finished brushing her hair, she set the brush down on the counter. "He won't notice a little more mess." She walked to the door and opened it a crack. "James?" 

He didn't answer, but as she opened the door slightly more, something fell off the handle. "Thanks, James!" She grabbed the clothes and went back inside. She quickly pulled on the boxers, then held up the shirt and gasped. It was plain enough, a short-sleeved black turtleneck. But it was very significant. It was the one he had always worn under his rocket uniform. 

"James." Was this 'any old shirt' to him now?' She had come to hate Team Rocket, and everything it stood for, but the uniforms held special meaning to her. Because they stood for more than just Team Rocket, they stood for their team. It stood for all those years they had been together, all the things they had been through together, their friendship. She lovingly ran her fingers along the fabric, smiling as random memories popped into her mind. Then she slipped the shirt on. She missed those old days so much... But they were gone now, and there was no sense dwelling on the past. "_Alright, alright._" she thought to herself. "_I'll leave as soon as my clothes are done._" She really didn't want to, but things had changed. There was no reason to drag James down with her. 

"He's got his own life now." She opened the door. The house was totally quiet, and dark except a single light in the kitchen. She tiptoed in. The room was empty, except for a plate of food and a note. She began to eat as she read: 

Jess,   
My boss called.   
The storm broke the window down at work.   
I went to help fix it.   
If you're still hungry, there's some leftovers in the fridge.   
Be back soon,   
James

A chilling realization that she was alone came to her, and she shivered as thunder rumbled in the distance. "_Calm down. It's just a storm._" But she hated storms, she always had. "_What's the big idea, leaving me alone, anyway?_" He knew she hated storms. "_All those Thundershocks and Thunderbolts._" She thought. Then again, this could be for the best. It would probably be best to leave before he got home. 

Another crack of lightning sent her zooming under the table. "Better find a flashlight." Fortunately, James was always thorough when it came to food. His kitchen was clean, even if his house wasn't. and it didn't take long to find one. She grabbed it out of the drawer just before another crash plunged the house into total darkness. 

She flipped the switch and breathed a sigh of relief as a comforting beam of light came out. "It even has fresh batteries. James, you astound me." She tried to eat as the storm raged on outside. Soon, however, she became aware of some thumping in James's room. 

"It's just your imagination." She tried to convince herself. But the noises got louder. "Better go check it out." She gulped. She really didn't want to, but she knew she should. "_It's probably just the window. It got knocked open, or broken, or something._" 

She gulped again and slowly tiptoed down the hall. As she got to the end, she paused for a moment, then gingerly opened the door. She flinched, half expecting something to jump out of the darkness and grab her. When it didn't, she shone the flashlight on the window. 

It was open, just as she had suspected. She sighed with relief and went to go shut it. Halfway there she heard a noise around her, and whirled around. She found herself facing one of the biggest men she had ever seen. From behind, a gloved hand clamped down on her mouth, another wrapped around her waist. She screamed and squirmed, stomping on her unseen attacker's foot. His grip loosened, and she dug her elbow into his side, forcing him to let go. 

She jumped onto the bed and spun around to access the situation. From the dim light of the flashlight she had dropped, she could see two people, both of them much taller than her. It was hopeless, she knew it. "_But I'm not going without a fight._" She thought grimly as one of the men headed towards her. 

To Be continued..... 

_Can any of you guess the significance of James's apartment number? If you can tell me, I will bow before your incredible knowledge. (It is Rocket-related, from one of the cartoons!) I had to look it up.   
Coming soon: Loyalties __Challenged_. Who sent those men? What are they after? And just how far will James go to save his best friends life? Stay tuned! 

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@Yahoo.com



	3. Loyalties: Challenged

Loyalties:   
Challenged   
_By [AMI][1] _

Warning: These ain't my characters, this ain't my idea, these ain't even based to closely on the cartoon anymore. There is nothing official about this story. This is, of course, the sequel to [Loyalties: Revealed][2] Strong PG warning, this one has some blood in it. You have been warned. Of course, if you've read the rest of the story, you shouldn't have any problem with this one. 

James ran through the pouring rain, shuddering. The entire city was completely dark, save for the occasional bolt of lightning that crashed through the sky with a deafening roar. He rubbed his numbing arms as he ran, it was freezing outside. He desperately wished he had remembered to get his coat back from Jessie before he left, but his boss had been rather insistent that he hurry. 

He checked his watch. It had taken longer then he had expected, he'd been gone for nearly two hours. Fortunately, Jessie had most likely spent at least one of those hours getting clean. It still made him nervous, though. He was a bit wary of the idea of leaving her alone in his apartment, especially for that long. He ran faster. 

When he finally got there, he ran inside. Leaning against the inside of the glass double doors that led to the lobby, he tried to catch his breath. He held his aching side as he looked around. Everything here, like the rest of the city, was pitch black. "Rats." He wheezed quietly. That meant the elevator wouldn't be working, he would have to take the stairs. Now that he was inside, away from the frigid night air, all of his running caught up with him. His face was red from the intense heat. 

Outside, a flash of lightning blasted, so close he could feel the ground shake, and he jumped away from the doors, squealing. He knew that after all that time being shocked by Pikachu on a near-daily basis, a little thunder shouldn't bother him, but it did. Or maybe all those thunder shocks were what had made him so wary of storms. 

In either case, the storm was probably scaring Jessie to death, too. She would be looking for something to take her mind off of the noise... most likely in the form of going through his stuff. "That's bad." He said aloud. There were things he didn't want her to see... His mind drifted to another painting of her, one he was too shy to hang. He gulped. _"If she ever sees it, I'll be the one to hang."_ He started up the stairs. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie screamed as one of the thugs grabbed the back of her collar, slamming her face against a mirror. As she pulled away, she gasped at the sharp pain of broken glass tearing at her cheek. She felt a few strands of hair trapped in the cracks yank out as she turned and punched the man in the jaw. 

The pain in her cheek forced her to put one hand to feel it. It was soaking wet, but in the darkness, she wasn't sure what it was: rain sweat, or.... She didn't have time to worry about it now. 

Her entire body was full of pain, but it was only that and the fear that kept her from loosing her consciousness. She heard something being hurled at her, and quickly leaned back as something flew past her face. She turned to look at it. On the ground lay a painting of her, in full uniform, in a now-broken picture frame. She seemed to remember it looking like one on a wanted poster. _"Oh, James..." _ She leaned over to look at it more closely. _ "Why can't you make up your mind?"_ She gently picked it up, accidentally cutting her finger on the broken glass. Did he love her after all? 

A crackling noise made her look up, and she jumped back, dropping the picture as the man sliced at her with a hunting knife. She was faster, and he merely succeeded in slicing the shirt. She wasn't sure what was worse, that he had cut such a special shirt, or that her bra was now showing. In either case, she was pissed. 

"Dammit!" she cried, throwing herself at the man. _"Big mistake."_ She didn't have time to correct herself. She felt his arm wrap around her waist, trapping her against him as the man's large fist came down on the back of her neck. Immediately, everything went even black around her. 

"We're gonna get busted." The man complained, as he felt Jessie's body go limp. "Weren't we supposed to be after a man?" He dropped her. "This..." He motioned to the distinctly feminine form now lying motionless on the ground. "Is definitely not a man." He looked at her a little more closely. "Don't she look pretty familiar?" 

"Who cares? This is the place the boss said to hit. We'll just tell her that this girl attacked us when we got here. If she doesn't like that, it's her problem. We've done our job." He picked up Jessie. "Come on, let's go. The little witch put up a lot more of a fight then I thought. The cops could get here any minute." 

"But..." 

"Come on." He jumped out the window to the fire escape, and started for the waiting van. The second thug hesitated for a moment, then started after him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James slowly limped down the hallway, leaning on one wall for support. His legs felt like they were going to fall off. The lights suddenly blinked, then flashed on. He could already hear the sound of the elevators resetting themselves. "D'oh!" He should have waited. 

He gently pushed the door open. "Jessie? I'm home!" He stepped just inside the door. "Jess? Where are you?" She certainly wasn't on the couch. He looked over to a cabinet. It looked untouched, but he wanted to be sure. He opened the door and peered in. There was the painting, just where he had left it, still wrapped in a dish towel. He unwrapped it and grinned at the girl in the painting. "Guess you're still my little secret, eh?" He said softly. 

The painting, a scarlet-haired angel in a flowing robe, just stared back at him, her bright blue eyes filled with a haunting sadness. Originally meant to be a gift for her sister, the painting had quickly became his most precious possession. He had spent countless hours painting and repainting the face he knew so well, never satisfied until it seemed like she was alive, until the painting drew you in, making you gawk at her. It was definitely his best work ever. He would often stare at her, half expecting her to speak to him. Meowth had called him insane. Looking back, he realized Meowth had probably been right. He quickly covered it and put it back. 

He became aware that Jessie still hadn't acknowledged his return. The more distant rumble of thunder was still enough to keep her awake. She was probably in his room. "Jess, what am I going to do with you?" He tisked softly. As he walked down the hall, he glanced into the kitchen. "That's funny." She had hardly touched her food. "Thought she said she was hungry." _"The storm probably made her too nervous to eat."_ he tried to comfort himself, feeling his own stomach tighten. Something felt wrong. 

"Jessie? Are you awake?" The washer was done, but her clean clothes hadn't been moved to the dryer. "She wanted them done right away." Plus, it would have been something to do. A nameless sense of dread began to spread over him. 

"Jessica! Answer me!" he yelled. He went to his door and hesitated. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened. But he had to know. He took a deep breath, then threw open the door. He stopped dead in his tracks. 

The room was a disaster. Muddy footprints were everywhere, paintings knocked off the wall, chairs smashed. He stepped in and looked around numbly. She was nowhere, but... his eyes rested on the mirror, and he gasped. 

It was shattered, with a few small pieces lying on the floor around it. But the part that really disturbed him was the blood. He reached out a shivering hand and touched it. It was still wet, but getting cold and sticky. He noticed that several hairs hung from a crack. They were bright red. 

"Jessie!" He gasped. What had happened to her? _"Not now... We've been through so much already..." _The room began to spin, he felt sick. He sank to his knees, and his blurred eyes focused slightly on the picture that lay on the ground. It, too, had blood on it. He wretched, then fell to the ground. "Jess." He whispered again as the world went dark. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James became aware of the chilling sensation of the rain-soaked blankets seeping into his clothes as he began to come to. As he struggled to wake up, he sensed another person in the room with him. He opened his eyes. His vision was still blurred, but he could make out red hair. "Jessie?!" he asked hopefully. Was it her? She was okay?! 

No, there was something wrong. Very wrong. Indeed, the girl standing over him now did look a great deal like Jessie. Another, less familiar person would assume that it was the same girl that had seemingly met her end in this room the night before. But he knew better 

His eyes focused on a pair of eyes. They were blue, like Jessie's, and at least as, if not more familiar. These eyes, however, were a great deal less welcome. 

"James dear, are y'all okay, darling?" a sweet voice with a soft southern accent asked worriedly. 

"Jessibell." He growled. He tried to sit up, but his stomach said otherwise. He leaned over the side of the bed and vomited again, almost hitting her shoes. He was slightly disappointed that he missed. 

"Eeeeeeeeeek!" Jessibell squealed daintily, gracefully jumping back to avoid it. "You're not barfin' properly." She complained. 

"What do you want?" he asked angrily. Then an awful thought came to him. "It was you last night, wasn't it? Where is she?! What did you do to her?!" 

"I was about to ask y'all that last part." Jessibell retorted, equally angry. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Well I sent my little friends to go 'convince' my James to come home so I could help him become all that he has the potential for. They come back and say all they could find was that little tramp you call your partner. She was in y'alls house, in your room, wearing your clothes!! What's a poor little girl to think of _her fiancé_." Jessibell was wallowing in self pity. 

"It wasn't like that." 

"Of course it wasn't." She said sarcastically. 

"Look. She borrowed some clothes to sleep in. If she was in my room, I wasn't aware. I wasn't even here." "_Like you need to know that._" He didn't want to tell her anything, but maybe if he convinced her nothing had happened, then she would calm down and drop a hint about what she'd done with Jessie. 

"I know y'all weren't here, James. You don't seriously think that I based my whole plan on her being there, do ya? I was after you." 

"Then you were here personally?" That most certainly didn't sound like Jessibell. She could be a little forceful at times, but had never been the kind to attack people, not this viciously. 

"No." She admitted, looking a little nervous. "In fact, I didn't know they were going to be that rough. It makes me glad that you weren't there." 

"But Jessie still got beaten." 

"That's her fault! Jessibell seemed to be in a very upset denial. "I just wanted my James to come home so that I could show him how much I truly cared about him, and finally get him to accept my true feelings for him, so I could...." 

James cut her off. "I am not 'your James'. I was never 'your James', and I will never be 'your James'." He told her bluntly. She looked over at him. 

"Never?" 

"Not in a million years." he said curtly. "I'm nineteen now, and none of you can boss me around like that anymore." 

"You really care about her that much?" Jessibell asked, and he nodded. "Well, then." She sounded really nervous again, but this time it had a more smug hint to it. "I guess there's no reason to keep her around." 

"What do you mean?!" James was afraid he knew all to well. 

"You know, I was just kinda planning to make some kind of deal. You know, I'd be more willing to let her go if I wasn't so worried about the little hussy stealing my fiancé behind my back. So, If you're willing to prove to me that you ain't going to 'mess around' anymore, I'd release her." Jessibell explained. 

"This 'proving' wouldn't involve speaking certain vows, would it?" James guessed. 

"Smart boy." She answered. He turned away, gulping slightly as he clenched his hands into tight fists, trembling slightly. 

"And, if I didn't?" He barely whispered, afraid of the answer. She just looked away. He turned to her. "You wouldn't..." He wasn't so sure anymore. 

"I won't make ya decide right now." She said. "Come to your house in a week with the answer. Oh, and dress nice. There's going to be a big event goin' on." She pulled out a small shred of black cloth. "A wedding..." She tossed it on the bed beside him. "...or a funeral." James gingerly picked up the cloth. It was part of the shirt he had lent Jessie, badly torn. A large, bright green ball was stuck to it. He gulped. He'd recognize Jessie's earrings anywhere. 

He turned, but Jessibell had already left. He turned back, feeling that deep, queasy feeling return. "Jess..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessie forced one eye open. She was some place very dark, with a heavy stench of dust and mildew. Her head was pounding, her vision blurred in one eye. The other was swollen totally shut. She moved slightly, then gasped as pain shot through her side. Her hand tried to jerk voluntarily down to feel it, but something stopped them. A one-eyed look told her they were duct-taped to something. She grumbled a few muffled obscenities as she tried to assess the damage. 

"Black eye, twisted ankle, pounding headache... probably cracked rib" she listed aloud. "And I'm hungry." 

"Other than that, how are y'all?" A voice came from behind her. Jessie couldn't see who it was, but she didn't have to. She knew. A light came on, setting off her headache even worse, and she turned away. 

"Jessibell." She grumbled, shutting her eye. "What do you want with me?" 

"Only to keep ya out of the way." Jessibell commented. "I don't want y'all to get in the way of my big day." Jessie said nothing. "You see, me an' James-dear are getting married. A week from today." She beamed. 

"That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you." Jessie whispered. 

"Jelous? Didn't he tell you about it?" Jessibell asked, feigning shock. "I guess he wanted two women up until the last minutes of bachelorhood. But, you see..." Jessibell grinned darkly. "You never had a chance. James-dearest never loved you, he was only too afraid to say anything. Now that you're gone, he's happy to marry me." 

"That's a lie. He isn't any more afraid of me then he is of you." She said quietly, unconvincingly. "Where am I?" 

"In the attic of James-dear's house." 

"Not the basement?" She remembered his basement. 

"Too obvious. No one knows you're here." 

"Not his parents? Weren't they involved?" Jessie asked. Jessibell had pulled this off by herself? She had figured his parents were behind this all. 

"No... his parents don't do anything anymore." Jessibell said softly, loosing her confidence for the first time in the conversation. "They both died last week. Their last request was that James-dear get married." 

"I've heard that line before." Jessie said angrily. "You don't really think I feel sorry for them, do you? I'm not falling for that again." 

"It's true this time. Y'all can believe what ya want." Jessibell said, heading for the door. "James-dear is still mine, you can't stop that." She flipped the light off, leaving Jessie in the darkness. 

Jessie turned away. It wasn't true, it couldn't be true. James wouldn't do that, he wasn't like that. But then, why? Why would Jessibell kidnap her, instead of James? Deep inside, she still didn't think he would, but her heart wasn't convinced. 

"This is all your fault." She said to herself angrily. She had been betrayed so many times. It was only natural that James would do the same. She should never have trusted him. Still, if he married Jessibell, he would get his inheritance. That was a lot of money. Up until a while ago, she wouldn't have thought twice about leaving James for that much. Even now, it would be a tough decision for her. "_Face it, Jess. You just can't compete with her. _" She had nothing to offer him. She gulped, trying to hold back her tears. It didn't take her long to realize that she couldn't. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jessibell leaned against the door, listening to the girl's gentle sobs. How odd. She had always thought that the little witch didn't care about her James. This was rather unexpected, and very unpleasant. 

_"She just doesn't want to loose the chance at his money."_ Jessibell tried to convince herself as she headed back to her room. Still, that didn't seem right. Last time they had met, The girl had been all too willing to part with James for a chance at a share of the profit. Had she really changed? 

Jessibell sat in front of the huge vanity mirror at her desk. James would come for the girl, she knew that. The disturbing part was the idea that she deserved it. Jessibell looked at her reflection intently. This whole messy disturbance was taking it's toll, her beautiful complexion showed the stress. Her gaze drifted to the gorgeous, snow-white dress hanging by her closet. She stood, walking to the dress, and ran her fingers through the lace. 

She had always dreamed of marrying James-dear in this dress. She loved him, didn't she? Sure, he was a little unrefined, but she could change that. Right? She had never questioned her love before. She knew if James married someone else, she would lose access to his fortune. Was that it? "NO!!!" She yelled, covering her ears. "I love my James-dear! I've never loved another man, only him!" 

"_He doesn't love you. _" a nagging voice reminded her. He would learn to. "_The only reason he's marrying you is to save her life._" It continued. "_He won't love you, not as long as she's alive. _" As long as she's alive... Jessibell's eyes suddenly brightened. Of course! James-dear was stubborn, but he would never love a dead woman more than her. She reached into her top drawer for a small, ornamental dagger. Jessibell's quiet, maniacal laugh echoed through the room as she stood to deal with the girl. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James stood outside the imposing doors to his house, trying not to gawk. He had almost forgotten how large the estate really was. Standing there, it felt just like old times. The fountain, the huge garden, the uncomfortable clothes. He had never cared for tuxedos, and the black one ( Black seemed most suited for such a sad occasion) he was wearing now was particularly uncomfortable. Most of all, he remembered the impending sense of hopelessness. He nervously knocked on the door. 

It burst open. "Welcome home, Master James!" Hopkins, the butler, yelled, grabbing his arm. "Hurry along!" He dragged James into the living room, where the main decoration was two familiar coffins. "Master, Mistress, your son is getting married today!!" The butler screamed into his megaphone. 

James sighed and waited for them to jump out and congratulate him. When they didn't, he turned to the butler. "They're awfully quiet today." He observed. 

"They're dead, you ninny!" The butler reminded him. 

"Dead? Really?!" James stammered, shocked. "You mean... it's not a prank?" The butler nodded, and James turned back. "They're dead?" He walked over to the coffins, attempting to lift the lid. It wouldn't budge. 

"What part of dead do you not understand?" Hopkins yelled. "The Master and Mistress both passed on due to sudden illness last week. They've already had their funeral, but the will said that they were not to be moved until their little son was wed!" James went slightly pale. His parents had faked being dead so often, it was hard to believe they actually were. As odd as it seemed, he really would miss them James took another look at the two coffins of his parents, then closed his eyes, dropping to his knees. He said a quiet prayer on their behalf, then sat in a moment of silence.. It was cut short when the butler yanked him to his feet. 

"Come along, Master James!" He yelled, dragging him to the back of the house. "You can't be late to your own wedding!" Before James had a chance to protest, he found himself at the end of a hastily-prepared isle in the old tennis room. 

"But, I..." James was completely caught off guard as the wedding march played in the background. This was all going so fast, he hardly had time to think. Something told him Jessibell had planned it that way. 

"There she is, Master. Isn't she stunning?" The butler whispered into his ear. James turned around to see a pretty red-head in a long, flowing gown heading towards him. She looked almost as nervous as he was as she was led along by a man James could only assume was her father. He seemed to be dragging her. 

Between Hopkins and Jessibell's father, they soon found themselves facing each other. Up close, her face seemed haunted and sick. She stumbled for words, and seemed to have forgotten all of her vows. James gulped. What was happening? 

"I, James Sassake, take you, Jessibell, as my..." The preacher droned on, and James half heatedly repeated: 

"I James Sassake, take you, Jessie..." The butler nudged him, and he coughed. "...bell, as my..." Her eyes widened slightly at his convenient 'mispronunciation', but she said nothing. 

At the end, the preacher told him to raise the veil, and he did. She reached out one hand to take his, it was shaking as he leaned forward. 

"You may now kiss the bride." 

"_This is for Jessie... _" He reminded himself, then pressed his lips to hers before he could change his mind. She seemed nervous, but pulled him against her, kissing him hard. He pulled away, slightly sickened. He lead her back down the isle, purposely avoiding her eyes. 

There were no guests, and only a small cake, so the reception was very short. Jessibell's parents congratulated them, then hinted they would probably like to spend some time alone. James nodded, wanting to talk to Jessibell about their 'agreement'. She just blushed a little. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James shut the door to Jessibell's room tightly, locking it behind him. When he turned to her, she avoided his glance. "Where is she?" He asked. 

"Where is who?" She asked quietly. 

"Don't give me that, Jessibell. We made a deal. I want to see Jessie." She sat down on the side of the bed. 

"I don't remember making any deals." She retorted. 

"What? Jessibell, you can't do this!" He yelled. "What have you done with her?!" 

She looked away. "Does this 'Jessie' really mean that much to you?" She whispered. 

" Of course she does." He was blushing slightly, he wasn't used to talking about her like that. "If I didn't care more about Jessie, do you think I would marry you to keep her safe? I already told you I loved her." 

"No you didn't!" She yelled, hitting with a mallet. He fell to the floor, then looked up, shocked. Mallets were far from Jessibell's weapon of choice. She turned away, crying softly. "You never told me any of that." She whispered. "I can't believe I just did that..." 

"Jessie?!" He begged. Was it her? 

To be continued...

Reviews are 'preciated. Flames aren't. Luv ya, hae a nice day! P.S. What does JAJRN stand for? 

   [1]: Mailto:Ami_Thest@Yahoo.com
   [2]: loyalty.htm



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